Showroom Of Compassion

Cake | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: January 11, 2011
• Release Date: January 11, 2011
• Label: Upbeat Records
• Copyright: 2010 Upbeat Records, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
• Record Company Required Metadata: Music file metadata contains unique purchase identifier. Learn more.
• Total Length: 40:24
• Genres:
  • Alternative Rock
• ASIN: B004GGKPVS
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,708 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

151 of 173 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars How do you afford your rock and roll lifestyle? January 21, 2011

By Jason Stein VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

These reviews here are far too gracious or far too negative. Cake's "Showroom Of Compassion" is neither here nor there. This could have been released in 2005, shortly after "Pressure Chief", or it could have been released in 1993, or it could have been released now. It's not their worst album, and not their best. I'd even go so far as to say it's not their most inspired or original work either.

"Showroom Of Compassion" has standard classic Cake sounding fare like "Long Time", "Mustache Man (Wasted)" and "Sick Of You" that easily conjure up memories of former glories "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" and "Never There". Then there's some ballads like the Frank Sinatra cover "What's Now Is Now", the instrumental "Teenage Pregnancy", the country waltz "Bound Away", the Christmas-belled "The Winter" and the wry observational album closer "Italian Guy" plus the catchy "Got To Move".

And then there's two songs that seem like true blue filler: "Federal Funding" and the worst track on the album "Easy To Crash". These two songs do not really fit with the rest of the album, though "Federal Funding" grew on me the more I listened to the album.

So, what's really, truly interesting here is that, according to Billboard, this is Cake's first number one album. Time for celebration, right? Well, it's also the first number one album to sell the lowest number of units to obtain number one status! Time to celebrate, right? Hmmmm. I wonder how the band feels about this? Are they partying it up in their solar powered studio? It's kind of like running a marathon and you are the only contestant in the race. Of course you're going to earn first place. Only 42,000 units moved in its first week of release, the lowest amount ever for a number one album. After 7 years away, no less. The music industry is in shambles. I like it.

I like Cake. Own all of their albums. Did what I normally do, which is go back to the first album and listen, in sequential order, to all of their albums prior to reviewing "Showroom Of Compassion". That way it's all fresh in my mind. Cake are this amusing college band that never goes away, but also never seems capable of any radical or surprising change. They are proficient at their craft. They are unique, not sounding like other bands, but that also boxes them in stylistically. They are not as clever as they once were, but they are still fun to have around compared to other bands and newer artists that are auto-tuned to death. At least John McCrea wears his flat vocals with pride.

Here's how "Showroom Of Compassion" compares with Cake's earlier works:

1994 Motorcade Of Generosity: Three and a Half Stars
1996 Fashion Nugget: Two and a Half Stars
1998 Prolonging The Magic: Three Stars
2001 Comfort Eagle: Five Stars
2004 Pressure Chief: Four Stars
2007 B-Sides & Rarities: Three Stars
2011 Showroom Of Compassion: Three and a Half Stars

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars New frosting, same Cake January 13, 2011

By J. Loudon

Format:Audio CD

"Showroom of Compassion" is Cake's sixth studio album and their first since 2004's "Pressure Chief." Although lead singer John McCre claims to have "wasted so much time" on the track "Mustache Man (Wasted)," Cake does not seem to have lost a bit of their dry humor or catchy, upbeat grooves.

The first track on the record, "Federal Funding," may catch some longtime fans off guard.

Cake's typical clean guitar tone is replaced with a rather fuzzed out, echo-laden sound while McCre's vocals are also run through a similar set of effects. The trumpets are still present, but not nearly as prominent or upbeat. As a whole, the track sounds more like a Velvet Underground single than a Cake tune.

While the lack of polish is certainly not a bad thing, fans of the first five Cake records may find "Federal Funding" somewhat hard to digest. Never fear, although these effects do make return appearances further along on the album, there is plenty of classic Cake to enjoy as well.

It doesn't take long for Cake to settle back into a familiar form. "Federal Funding" is followed with "Long Time" which should be more than enough to put the ears and minds of Cake fans at ease; all of the ingredients are there.

A solid, mid-tempo drum groove paves the way for a cleaner guitar tone, dry vocals, bright trumpets, and even some call and response stylized harmonies.

Like all good Cake singles, "Long Time" also introduces their latest catchy groove with a hit on the vibraslap. Yes, that instrument that sounds like a rattlesnake heard on such classic Cake tunes as "Never There," "Short Skirt/Long Jacket," and "Comfort Eagle" is back for another set of quality Cake singles.

In fact, on "Showroom of Compassion," the vibraslap seems to secretly inform the listener which tracks are the best on the record. "Long Time," "Mustache Man (Wasted)," and the first single, "Sick of You," are all given the vibraslap treatment.

By the end of the album, it becomes easier to understand why the songs were ordered the way they were. "Federal Funding" may have seemed like a surprise, but in actuality, it's a perfect blend of old and new.

The eerie piano waltz that opens Cake's instrumental track, "Teenage Pregnancy," the electronic bleeps on songs like "Easy to Crash" and the string parts on "What's Now Is Now" and "Italian Guy" all displays a more exploratory side to the band.

Often bands that have spent some time out of the spotlight will come back sounding like cover bands of themselves. In Cake's case, with five albums behind them and over six years removed from the studio, the band hasn't lost their style, but they change things up enough to sound fresh and rejuvenated.

Similar Artists: Beck, Weezer

Track Suggestion: "Sick of You"

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Misprint....HUGE Misunderstanding November 12, 2011

By B. W.

Format:Vinyl|Amazon Verified Purchase

The packaging and cute little colored records look great. Unfortunately, style superseded substance here. The transparent record which is supposed to contain "Huge Misunderstanding" (and is labeled as such) actually plays "Federal Funding March," which is also (correctly) on the yellow record. While you might not miss this little bonus track, I have to add that the sound quality, on this particular clear record is also especially bad, though I'm not sure any of the records sounded as high quality as the dusty old mistreated 5th Dimension record I dug up at a garage sale for a quarter this morning. I'm no vinyl connoisseur; my record player is just a new toy for me, but these records strike me as something of a toy as well. Only two or three of the records had paper sleeves. I considered sending them back due to the flaws, but...they ARE an awfully cute toy. Great album, great aesthetic, poor quality control.